The Human Rights Campaign organization said a pressure campaign forced the White House to soften a statement it had made against transgender operations on minors.
The Biden administration made the brief statement after it was criticized for reports that Rachel Levine, the transgender assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, had sought to eliminate age recommendations for sex change surgeries.
‘It’s wrong on the science and wrong on the substance.’
“The Administration does not support surgery for minors,” read a response from the White House.
A separate and longer statement said it supported “gender-affirming care” for minors that included mental health care.
“These are deeply personal decisions, and we believe these surgeries should be limited to adults. We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors like mental health care and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions,” read the statement.
Transgender activists immediately excoriated Biden for not supporting the controversial policy of the LGBTQ+ movement.
“The Biden administration is flat wrong on this,” said HRC president Kelley Robinson. “It’s wrong on the science and wrong on the substance. It’s also inconsistent with other steps the administration has taken to support transgender youth.”
On Tuesday, the administration issued a clarification, according to Erin Reed, a transgender activist.
“These are deeply personal decisions and we believe these surgeries should be limited to adults,” the statement read. “We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign, activists pressured the administration to issue the clarification in support of a “continuum of care” rather than simply “mental health care.”
HRC took credit for the change in the White House statement.
“This is progress, but need to keep pushing. Pressure is working. This would not have happened without all of use,” said Robinson in an email.
Reed, however, said it was not enough.
“Notably, the recent edit to the White House statement still has a damaging surgery opposition including top surgeries <18, which could lead Dems in purple states to target trans care,” the activist posted on social media.
‘We have to debate this on the House Floor so that America knows if their member of Congress supports child mutilation.’
Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas noted the change and demanded that Democrats get on the record about the controversial surgeries.
“The White House now says they oppose gender transition surgeries on minors. Which is the opposite of what their Administration has been doing. It’s time to put Democrats on the record. They’re supporting pseudoscience and now even their own Administration is backing away. We have to debate this on the House Floor so that America knows if their member of Congress supports child mutilation,” said Crenshaw.
“I already passed my legislation out of committee that would prohibit funding to children’s hospitals that do gender transition procedures on minors. EVERY SINGLE Democrat opposed it,” he added. “What will they do on the House Floor?”
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